SAN FRANCISCO, November 19, 2003 -- San Francisco State
University and its students contributed nearly $1.2 billion
to the San
Francisco Bay Area economy and supported about 15,150 Bay
Area jobs in fiscal year 2002-03 through direct and indirect
spending, according to a recent economic impact analysis.

Prepared
by SFSU associate professor of economics Michael J. Potepan,
the economic impact report also states that the
recent $9.4 million net budget cut resulting from California's
fiscal crisis will reduce the University's direct and
indirect economic contributions in the current fiscal year
by almost $30 million and could result in the loss of nearly
390 off-campus Bay Area jobs.

"San
Francisco State's impact extends far beyond the
educational and research programs it provides," said
Potepan. "This report clearly shows the broader economic
and social benefits that the University brings to the city
and the Bay Area."

SFSU
is a major economic force in the Bay Area. For every dollar
received from California's General Fund, the
University returns $3.82 back to the local and state economy.

With
more than 28,000 students, SFSU ranked third in Bay Area
university student enrollment and is the city's 23rd largest
employer,
according to annual rankings compiled by the San Francisco
Business Times. In 2002-03, the University and its auxiliaries
employed 3,490 people (including faculty) and awarded baccalaureate
degrees to 4,708 students, and master's degrees to
1,298 students.

Most
of the campus' more than 150,000 living alumni
have settled in the Bay Area. The report notes that as graduates
enter or re-enter the local workforce, their contributions
over time easily dwarf the University's spending contributions.

The
report explains that the University's impact on
the region ripples beyond its direct spending, resulting in
additional purchases -- termed "indirect spending" --elsewhere
in the local economy.

During 2002-03, the University accounted for more than $341
million in direct spending. Of that sum, $165 million (48
percent) was for employee salaries and benefits, $145 million
(42 percent)
was for purchases of goods and services from Bay Area businesses
and the remainder was for financial aid to students.

SFSU
students pumped an extra $387 million (excluding student
fees, books
and supplies counted in the University's revenue) into
the economy through their direct expenditures for goods and services.

Adding the $387 million in student purchases to the University's
$320 million in direct expenditures (revenue from student financial
aid was removed to avoid double-counting) brings the total direct
spending to $707 million. This direct spending generated another
$458 million in indirect expenditures throughout the region, making
the grand total amount of Bay Area economic activity equal to $1.166
billion or nearly $1.2 billion.

Direct and indirect spending by the University and students
supported an additional 11,662 jobs throughout the region beyond
the 3,490
already employed by the University, for a total of 15,150.

SFSU
attracted nearly $50 million in externally sponsored research,
scholarly
activities and community projects, a 270
percent increase
in funding since 1992-93. According to the University's Office
of Research and Sponsored Programs in fiscal year 2002-03, approximately
520 students, 37 lecturers, 20 postdoctoral researchers and 375
hourly and salaried staff were employed by external funds.

Among some of the other significant findings of the report:

Since
1990, SFSU has spent almost $250 million on construction
of new buildings and renovation and retrofitting of existing
buildings.
This translates to an average annual capital spending level of
more than $19 million. Currently, the University's
two largest capital spending projects have a multi-year budget
of nearly $38
million.

Forty-five
percent of students came from other countries, other states or
from outside the Bay Area, bringing new spending
to the local economy that would not have occurred otherwise.
Out-of-state students and students from outside the nine-
county Bay Area spent $102.4 million during the academic year.
International
students, who make up 19 percent of the total student population,
spent an additional $86 million.

A
full-time undergraduate student living off-campus spends
about $16,250 on fees, books, room and board, transportation
and personal expenses, during the nine-month academic year.